Omega-3 Supplementation and Its Effects on Osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease characterized by the destruction of the articular cartilage, resulting in a pro-inflammatory response. The progression of OA is multifactorial and is influenced by the underlying cause of inflammation, which includes but is not limited to trauma, metabolism, biology, comorbidities, and biomechanics. Although articular cartilage is the main tissue affected in osteoarthritis, the chronic inflammatory environment negatively influences the surrounding synovium, ligaments, and subchondral bone, further limiting their functional abilities and enhancing symptoms of OA. Treatment for osteoarthritis remains inconsistent due to the inability to determine the underlying mechanism of disease onset, severity of symptoms, and complicating comorbidities. In recent years, diet and nutritional supplements have gained interest regarding slowing the disease process, prevention, and treatment of OA. This is due to their anti-inflammatory properties, which result in a positive influence on pain, joint mobility, and cartilage formation. More specifically, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have demonstrated an influential role in the progression of OA, resulting in the reduction of cartilage destruction, inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokine cascades, and production of oxylipins that promote anti-inflammatory pathways. The present review is focused on the assessment of evidence explaining the inflammatory processes of osteoarthritis and the influence of omega-3 supplementation to modulate the progression of osteoarthritis.

The Effects of Momordica charantia on Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Alzheimer's Disease.

T2DM is a complex metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance. It is recognized as one of the most common metabolic disorders and its prevalence continues to raise major concerns in healthcare globally. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a gradual neurodegenerative brain disorder characterized by the chronic loss of cognitive and behavioral function. Recent research suggests a link between the two diseases. Considering the shared characteristics of both diseases, common therapeutic and preventive agents are effective. Certain bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals found in vegetables and fruits can have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that allow for preventative or potential treatment options for T2DM and AD. Recently, it has been estimated that up to one-third of patients with diabetes use some form of complementary and alternative medicine. Increasing evidence from cell or animal models suggests that bioactive compounds may have a direct effect on reducing hyperglycemia, amplifying insulin secretion, and blocking the formation of amyloid plaques. One plant that has received substantial recognition for its numerous bioactive properties is Momordica charantia (M. charantia), otherwise known as bitter melon, bitter gourd, karela, and balsam pear. M. charantia is utilized for its glucose-lowering effects and is often used as a treatment for diabetes and related metabolic conditions amongst the indigenous populations of Asia, South America, India, and East Africa. Several pre-clinical studies have documented the beneficial effects of M. charantia through various postulated mechanisms. Throughout this review, the underlying molecular mechanisms of the bioactive components of M. charantia will be highlighted. More studies will be necessary to establish the clinical efficacy of the bioactive compounds within M. charantia to effectively determine its pertinence in the treatment of metabolic disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, such as T2DM and AD.

The Effects of Food Environment on Obesity in Children: A Systematic Review.

Childhood obesity is an epidemic connected with poor eating. According to the United States Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS), food deserts are geographical locations in which residents have restricted or nonexistent access to healthful and quality food. Restricted access to healthy food is commonly associated with poor nutrition-related health outcomes, including obesity. This review aims to highlight the relationship between residing in a food desert or a similar environment on body mass index (BMI) in school-aged children in North America, predominantly in the Midwest region of the United States and Mexico. In this study, 17 articles were included from PubMed/Medline, Google Scholar, and Crossref. Most of these studies showed no association between the food environment and increased BMI. This discrepancy emphasizes the need for further research; the lack of access to healthful foods in food deserts is an issue that deserves additional attention.

Exploring typologies of appraisals, involvement, and distress in type 2 diabetes family members.

The present study conducted a latent profile analysis from a US national sample of 446 family members to identify and predict unique clusters of family members' PWD illness appraisals, involvement, and psychological distress. Time since diagnosis, diabetes adherence, the relationship with the PWD, age, gender, race/ethnicity, income, and economic pressure were included as predictors. Class membership was used to predict the family members' own health behaviors (sleep quality, days of physical activity, and diet quality). Results revealed four distinct classes: Moderately Concerned, Involved, and Distressed (32.51%), Least Concerned, Distressed, and Involved (27.13%), Less Concerned and Distressed, Moderately Involved (23.77%), and Most Concerned, Involved, and Distressed (16.82%). The significant predictors and outcomes of class membership revealed interesting patterns in associations with class membership. Consequently, in addition to involving family members, health promotion and intervention efforts must consider the psychological health and illness appraisals of family members rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

The Role of Diet and Dietary Patterns in Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with diminished nutrition status and decreased quality of life. While the prevalence of PD is expected to increase, no preventative or curative therapy for PD exists at this time. Although nutrition and diet represent modifiable risk factors for reducing chronic disease risk, research on the impact of single nutrients on PD has yielded mixed results. As a result, this single-nutrient approach may be the driving force behind the inconsistency, and a holistic dietary approach may overcome this inconsistency by accounting for the interactions between nutrients. The following review aims to examine the impact of a generally healthy dietary pattern, the protein-restricted diet (PRD), the ketogenic diet (KD), the Mediterranean diet (MD), and the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet on PD risk, progression, and severity. While most of the included studies support the role of diet and dietary patterns in reducing the risk of PD or alleviating PD severity, the inconsistent results and need for further evidence necessitate more research being conducted before making dietary recommendations. Research on the potential beneficial effects of dietary patterns on PD should also investigate potential risks.

A Mental Health Chatbot with Cognitive Skills for Personalised Behavioural Activation and Remote Health Monitoring.

Mental health issues are at the forefront of healthcare challenges facing contemporary human society. These issues are most prevalent among working-age people, impacting negatively on the individual, his/her family, workplace, community, and the economy. Conventional mental healthcare services, although highly effective, cannot be scaled up to address the increasing demand from affected individuals, as evidenced in the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conversational agents, or chatbots, are a recent technological innovation that has been successfully adapted for mental healthcare as a scalable platform of cross-platform smartphone applications that provides first-level support for such individuals. Despite this disposition, mental health chatbots in the extant literature and practice are limited in terms of the therapy provided and the level of personalisation. For instance, most chatbots extend Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) into predefined conversational pathways that are generic and ineffective in recurrent use. In this paper, we postulate that Behavioural Activation (BA) therapy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are more effectively materialised in a chatbot setting to provide recurrent emotional support, personalised assistance, and remote mental health monitoring. We present the design and development of our BA-based AI chatbot, followed by its participatory evaluation in a pilot study setting that confirmed its effectiveness in providing support for individuals with mental health issues.

Staying safe while staying together: the COVID-19 paradox for participants returning to community-based sport in Victoria, Australia.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the challenges adult community sport participants anticipate when returning to sport in Victoria, Australia, post a COVID-19 shutdown. METHODS: Using online concept mapping, participants brainstormed challenges to returning to community sport, sorted them into groups and rated them for impact and ability/capacity to overcome. Analysis included multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis. RESULTS: Forty-five community sport participants representing 24 sports identified 69 unique challenges to returning to sport. Eight clusters/questions participants need answered emerged from the sorting data (mean cluster impact and ability/capacity rating out of 5): Will we have enough participants? (3.32, 2.89); How do we stay safe? (3.31, 3.35); How will our sport change? (3.17, 2.85); How can we stay together? (3.15, 3.01); Will I be physically ready? (3.15, 3.05); What about the money? (2.86, 2.53); What about me? (2.65, 3.13); and What about the facilities? (2.49, 2.45). CONCLUSIONS: Participants perceived paradoxical challenges to returning to sport after COVID-19 shutdown, which revolved around staying safe, staying connected and accessing meaningful sport activities. Implications for public health: Sport organisations and public health practitioners should address the participant-centred challenges identified in this study to maximise the public health benefits of participants returning to community sport.

Nutrition Knowledge of Collegiate Athletes in the United States and the Impact of Sports Dietitians on Related Outcomes: A Narrative Review.

In the last decade, the number of full-time registered dietitians (RDs) serving intercollegiate athletes in the United States has more than quadrupled. However, many student athletes may be at increased risk of nutrition-related problems that impact physical and academic performance, which include inadequate macronutrients, inadequate micronutrients, and excessive macronutrients. This narrative review reports the current literature to date on nutrition-related knowledge in collegiate athletes and the impact of sports RDs on student athletes' nutrition knowledge and behaviors. To date, only observational and quasi-experimental studies have been published with regard to changes in nutrition knowledge and behaviors in NCAA athletes. While these studies report benefits of the RD as a member of the interdisciplinary student athlete support team, more well-designed randomized control trials are warranted to determine benefits related to health outcomes and sport-specific performance outcomes.

The Effects of Vitamin D on Metabolic Profiles in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Systematic Review.

This systematic review aims to evaluate all epidemiological evidence in the literature linking the effect of vitamin D supplementation to metabolic and hormonal functions in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. The literature search was performed with two databases, namely Medline/PubMed and Web of Science, until 20 May 2019 for both observational and experimental studies concerning relationships between vitamin D and polycystic ovary syndrome. A total of ten studies with randomized, double-blinded, and placebo-controlled trial design from 2008 to 2019 were selected for this review. The inclusion criteria were women 18-45 years of age with polycystic ovary syndrome and comparing the metabolic or endocrine parameters between placebo and vitamin D supplementation groups. A total of ten studies were selected for this review. We found that vitamin D supplementation had a significant effect on insulin metabolism, total serum testosterone, hirsutism, C-reactive protein, and total antioxidant capacity in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Evidence from available randomized controlled trials suggests that patients with polycystic ovary syndrome should take vitamin D supplementation for the beneficial effect of metabolic profiles. However, future research is needed regarding the beneficial effects in women who are non-obese with polycystic ovary syndrome, as well as more studies with larger sample sizes.

The Mediterranean Diet in the Stroke Belt: A Cross-Sectional Study on Adherence and Perceived Knowledge, Barriers, and Benefits.

The Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) is recommended by the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans, yet little is known about the perceived barriers and benefits to the diet in the U.S., particularly in the Stroke Belt (SB). Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine MedDiet adherence and perceived knowledge, benefits, and barriers to the MedDiet in the U.S. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1447 participants in the U.S., and responses were sorted into geographic groups: the SB, California (CA), and all other US states (OtherUS). Linear models and multivariable linear regression analysis was used for data analysis. Convenience, sensory factors, and health were greater barriers to the MedDiet in the SB group, but not the OtherUS group (p < 0.05). Weight loss was considered a benefit of the MedDiet in the SB (p < 0.05), while price and familiarity were found to be less of a benefit (p < 0.05). Respondents with a bachelor's degree or greater education had greater total MEDAS scores (p < 0.05) and obese participants had a lower MedDiet adherence score (p < 0.05). Our results identify key barriers and benefits of the MedDiet in the SB which can inform targeted MedDiet intervention studies.

Ecological strategies to promote healthy body image among children.

BACKGROUND: Personal habits of children and adolescents related to healthy body image (BI) are influenced by various determinants in the micro- and macroenvironment. These include attitudes and behaviors about eating; exercise and physical appearance modeled by parents, teachers, and peers; as well as opportunities to learn new habits and social praise for healthy choices. The coordinated school health program (CSHP) is compatible with the 5 levels of an ecological approach to developing new health behaviors. METHODS: Authors systematically applied the ecological model to all 8 components of coordinated school health. Next, strategies for each of the components were developed using the professional literature as well as author expertise in the areas of health education, exercise science, and dietetics. RESULTS: For each strategy, applicable health and physical education standards, as well as goals for each strategy and additional Web resources, were provided to assist educators and administrators in supporting healthy BI among students. CONCLUSIONS: Educators may effectively use a coordinated approach to guide multiple intervention activities aimed at increasing healthy habits among adolescents and their families. The strength of the CSHP is its collaborative nature with active participation by students, faculty members, family caregivers, agency professionals, community residents, and health care providers.